Principal Data Scientist at Marshmallow, London, United Kingdom

We started Marshmallow when we found out how unfair insurance prices are for people who move to the UK. All because the industry hasn't given this huge cohort of people a second's thought, and isn't set up to price them properly.

We saw an opportunity to do things differently, so we made it our mission to back the ones who step outside the norm. Since we started, we've helped 100,000s of people get a fairer deal on their car insurance. Using technology, we serve people that are often overlooked by financial services companies, solving important problems for people who need it most.

We know there are millions of marginalised customers out there. And we know that they face unique problems that most companies aren't even aware of. We believe that our future is helping these people by learning about their experiences, and building our company around their needs. And there are strong signs that there's a need for a company like us. Earlier this year we hit profitability, which is a huge milestone, but the most exciting thing is that we're only just getting started.

How we work

We're really proud of the culture we've created. We push for progress every day, because we know that we'll only hit big milestones by taking lots of smaller steps. We're always open to helping our team mates, sharing our ideas, experience and knowledge to solve problems together. We take risks, think creatively and experiment relentlessly to meet our customer's needs, and never pass blame when things go wrong. We encourage people at all levels to take ownership of their work, and to be bold in challenging how we do things. Everyone has a voice and the opportunity to make an impact.

And autonomy and ownership are only possible with clear direction. That's why we collaborate to do in-depth planning twice a year, and make sure we leave with clear goals and objectives that flow from top to bottom. To make sure we're as aligned as possible across functions, most of our work rolls up into four tribes; Acquisition, Retention, Claims and Pricing, Underwriting & Fraud. Each tribe has multiple teams embedded in it, working cross-functionally to do great work.

We're so excited for all of the challenges up ahead, and we need more people to help us tackle them! If life at Marshmallow sounds like it could be for you, explore our culture handbook or read our blog to find out more.

The Data Science Team

We're here to generate insights and actions from all the data we can get our hands on. This includes analytics, predictive modelling, and prescriptive recommendations. We deliver high-impact work to the business, focusing on high-risk, high-reward projects, and making sure all decisions are data-driven.

We're looking for a Principal Data Scientist to help us push our claims tribe to the next level. We want to build a seamless customer experience for individuals going through our claims journey - automating and streamlining all decision points. Ultimately this will save the company money but, very importantly, it will transform the customer experience during this difficult time.

This is only the beginning of Data Science's journey to be a key innovator at Marshmallow and in the wider insurance industry. We're really excited to build on what we've done and emerge as a market leader in this space.

What you'll be doing

1. Leading and delivering on a data science roadmap in claims, aligned with product and engineering.
2. Identifying, scoping and pushing currently-unmapped modelling solutions in claims.
3. Advocating and upholding high data standards and practices in claims.
4. Work within a cross-functional team (engineers, designers, analysts, product manager) and become an expert in your area.
5. Be a champion of data and solidify data-driven process within the team.
6. Design and monitor A/B tests to isolate the impact of initiatives.
7. Designing, developing, deploying and monitoring predictive model solutions alongside commercial actions.

Who you are

You have a commercial mindset, focused on delivering impact to the business as quickly as possible.

You can communicate clearly with people of all technical levels and disciplines.

You want to discover and scope new opportunities that may be uncharted territory.

You see the value in and push for solid data foundations, facilitating more complex analytics/ML projects.

You relish owning an area and the opportunity that comes with it.

What we're looking for from you Experiences that are essential

1. Experience building future-proof data models and analytics products.
2. Experience driving business action and impact from data-driven insights.
3. Experience developing and deploying ML models to answer business cases and drive value.
4. Strong coding ability in Python, SQL.
5. Ability to manipulate large data sets.
6. Experience owning, leading and resourcing an area of the business for data science.
7. 8+ Years of Experience in Data Science or related fields.

Experiences that will help you

1. Experience working in cross-functional teams.
2. Experience managing a team.
3. Experience in a high-growth company.
4. Experience in insurance.

Perks of the job

1. Flexi-office working Spend at least 3 days a week with your team in our new collaborative London office. The rest is up to you!
2. Flexible benefits budget - £50 per month to spend wherever you like on a Ben Mastercard.
3. Learning and development Personal budgets for books and training courses to help you grow in your role. Plus 2 days a year - on us! - to further your skillset.
4. Mental wellbeing support Access therapy and mental health sessions through Self Space, and sign up for your free subscription to Calm.
5. Equity Get options in Marshmallow as part of your offer, and have a real stake in the company's success.
6. Private health care - Enjoy all the benefits Vitality has to offer, including reduced gym memberships and discounts on smartwatches.
7. Medical cash plan - To help you with the costs of dental, optical and physio (plus more!).
8. Tech scheme - Get the latest tech for less.
9. Plus all the rest; 33 days holiday (including bank holidays), pension, cycle to work scheme, monthly team socials and company-wide socials every month!

Our process

We break it up into 3 stages:

1. Initial call with Orla, our Talent Acquisition Partner (30 mins).
2. A previous experience interview where you will discuss your journey so far and ways of working with Paul, our Head of Data Science (45 minutes).
3. A technical interview with one of our Principal Data Scientists (1 hr).
4. A culture interview with a bar raiser to see if your work style fits our processes and values (1 hour).

We'll let you know if you're invited to an interview or not. But, as a small team with a lot of applications to consider, we can't give personal feedback on each application.

Everyone belongs at Marshmallow

At Marshmallow, we want to hire people from all walks of life with the passion and skills needed to help us achieve our company mission. To do that, we're committed to hiring without judgement, prejudice or bias.

We encourage everyone to apply for our open roles. Gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or background does not affect how we process job applications.

We're working hard to build an inclusive culture that empowers our people to do their best work, have fun and feel that they belong.